If your Epson printer needs resetting you can download the latest software Version of the SSC Service Utility (V4.3) from this link.Install it and run it, click on configuration, select your printer from both lists ('x' is replaced by a number), close the program with the red cross. The program will run in your task bar, click your right mouse button on the icon for a menu. You can use the appropriate utility for your needs, if your printer needs maintenance due to ink pad being full, select Protection Counter and Reset Protection Counter. If your printer has locked out because you ignored the warnings and continued printing, first select Protection Counter and Clear Counter Overflow, then select Extras and Soft Reset, wait 5 minutes, then select Protection Counter and Reset Protection Counter.

If your printer has stopped printing and can't be reset, you will usually see either a steady red light or alternating red and green lights and the printer will not respond. There may also be a message in your computer status monitor saying "communication error" / "printer requires maintenance".This is caused by built in software / firmware which counts the amount of prints you've made and stops when the protection counter reaches a predetermined limit, also giving the message that your ink pad is full. You will be allowed a certain amount of overflow prints to the protection counter limit, after which the printer will completely stop.

There is software online that will normally reset most Epson printers that have reached this limit and is used by Epson Service Engineers called SSC Service Utility (sscserve.exe), however this does not reset the Epson dX-5050 protection counter / firmware.

All is not lost, you can manually reset the firmware using the following sequence of actions:

Close down all Epson programsExit all Epson printer programs that may be running in the background or on your task bar.The quickest way to do this is to press Ctrl, Alt & Del on your keyboard and release, which will open your Windows Task Manager.Click on [Processes] and a list of all processes running on your computer will appear, look for any in the list that say Epson, highlight it and select [End Process]. Carry this out for any Epson programs running.

Now to reset your printer.Switch off the printer using the power button.PRESS and HOLD all following printer buttons: Power, Load/Eject, Stop, B&W, Color and continue to hold until "Init eeprom" appears on the printer screen, then RELEASE ALL BUTTONS.Next press the Color button to clear the protection counter.Follow any other instructions given by the printer.

If there are any further problems.At this point a variety of events could take place, such as the printer software may have switched to offline, the printer buffer could be holding unprinted tasks and many other hardware and communication blocks, which may still stop you continuing with normal use of your printer.If so, simply just;[Shut Down] your Computer, [Switch Off] your printer with the power button, [Unplug] your printer by removing the power lead from the back of your printer, [Wait] at least 2 minutes, [Reinsert] the power lead into the printer, [Switch On] the printer using the power button, [Start Up] your computer.

The printer should now work as normal, but for printers with LCD displays, still follow any instructions your printer gives you on the LCD display [Printer Screen].How to unlock your Epson dX5050 printer

If your printer has stopped printing and can't be reset, you will usually see either a steady red light or alternating red and green lights and the printer will not respond. There may also be a message in your computer status monitor saying "communication error" / "printer requires maintenance".This is caused by built in software / firmware which counts the amount of prints you've made and stops when the protection counter reaches a predetermined limit, also giving the message that your ink pad is full. You will be allowed a certain amount of overflow prints to the protection counter limit, after which the printer will completely stop.

There is software online that will normally reset most Epson printers that have reached this limit and is used by Epson Service Engineers called SSC Service Utility (sscserve.exe), however this does not reset the Epson dX-5050 protection counter / firmware.

All is not lost, you can manually reset the firmware using the following sequence of actions:
Close down all Epson programsExit all Epson printer programs that may be running in the background or on your task bar.The quickest way to do this is to press Ctrl, Alt & Del on your keyboard and release, which will open your Windows Task Manager.Click on [Processes] and a list of all processes running on your computer will appear, look for any in the list that say Epson, highlight it and select [End Process]. Carry this out for any Epson programs running.

Now to reset your printer.Switch off the printer using the power button.PRESS and HOLD all following printer buttons: Power, Load/Eject, Stop, B&W, Color and continue to hold until "Init eeprom" appears on the printer screen, then RELEASE ALL BUTTONS.Next press the Color button to clear the protection counter.Follow any other instructions given by the printer.

If there are any further problems.At this point a variety of events could take place, such as the printer software may have switched to offline, the printer buffer could be holding unprinted tasks and many other hardware and communication blocks, which may still stop you continuing with normal use of your printer.If so, simply just;[Shut Down] your Computer, [Switch Off] your printer with the power button, [Unplug] your printer by removing the power lead from the back of your printer, [Wait] at least 2 minutes, [Reinsert] the power lead into the printer, [Switch On] the printer using the power button, [Start Up] your computer.

The printer should now work as normal, but for printers with LCD displays, still follow any instructions your printer gives you on the LCD display [Printer Screen].

I have the same printer: Epson DX5050 it just stopped printing properly one day.

I changed the inks, cleaned the heads many times, tried resetting the printer, everything, nothing worked.

I downloaded the SSC software (from elsewhere as this link isn't working) & picked it automaticallypicked the Epson C60 model, even though this wasn't my model, I tried using all the featuresin the software, ie the resets & stuff.

5 Suggested Answers

Hi,
a 6ya Technician can help you resolve that issue over the phone in a minute or two.
Best thing about this new service is that you are never placed on hold and get to talk to real repair professionals here in the US. click here to Talk to a Technician (only for users in the US for now) and get all the help you need. Goodluck!

Tell us some more! Your answer needs to include more details to help people.You can't post answers that contain an email address.Please enter a valid email address.The email address entered is already associated to an account.Login to postPlease use English characters only.

The easy answer is yes, but Epson's are notorious for clogging up when you are not using epson genuine ink. Everytime I have used anything but an epson cartridge im my printer it has cost me more to clean it then if I spent the extra $ on epson ink. Hope this helps.